Spring football notes: Johnson shines, something new for Oliphant

Houston coach Tony Levine tried to give a history lesson to Aaron Johnson on Monday.

Johnson, a redshirt sophomore receiver who is looking for a way to get onto the field for the Cougars in this, his third season with UH, has spent the last week-plus of workouts at receiver after spending the first two weeks of spring trying his hand at quarterback. Since returning to receiver, Johnson has quickly showed his playmaking ability, speed, quickness and hands.

Aaron Johnson has impressed the coaching staff since returning to receiver. (Sam Khan/Chronicle)

So Levine asked Johnson on Monday if he knew who Wally Pipp was.

“He didn’t but he’s going to find out,” Levine said Monday. “I told him to Google it tonight. I think some of our guys here are going to find out in a hurry who Wally Pipp was. He’s doing a great job and he’s caught more balls in three or four practices than a lot of guys have caught in 12. So I’m excited about that and he’s competing not only to play but to start.”

That’s right, Levine said start — Johnson has quickly found himself competing for not only playing time but perhaps a starting spot at receiver. When the Cougars went to 11-on-11 team drills on Monday, Johnson lined up at the ‘X’ position (the receiver on the far left side of the quarterback, where Patrick Edwards lined up a year ago). Part of that was circumstance since two guys competing at that position — Isaiah Sweeney (class) and Mark Roberts (injury) — were unavailable on Monday, but Johnson has shown well since returning to receiver and did so again on Monday, taking advantage of the opportunity afforded.

Many baseball fans know the story of Wally Pipp well. He was the New York Yankees starting first baseman who missed a game in the 1920s. The man who replaced him in the lineup that day was Lou Gehrig, who went on to play 2,130 consecutive games and become a Hall of Famer. Should Johnson eventually win a starting spot and go on to be a productive receiver for the Cougars this year, he’ll undoubtedly remember what Levine asked him to Google.

Trying something new
In an effort to get the most out of their pass rush, the Cougars moved a pair of linebackers — Desmond Pulliam and Jon Witten — to defensive end earlier this spring. Pulliam is still working out at the position and has shown well from his left end spot while Witten shined early in spring ball from right end before a knee sprain ended his spring. Now you can add a new name to the list of potential converted defensive ends: Efrem Oliphant.

The sophomore linebacker, who has been taking second-team repetitions as the middle linebacker (Everett Daniels has worked the middle with the first team all spring), is getting a chance to show what ability he has at defensive end, an experiment Levine hopes works out.

“We’re looking at that,” Levine said. “We’ve got a couple of guys dinged up on the defensive end position but it was something we talked to prior to that. He and I met a couple of days ago before we had four practices left and he can play middle linebacker in his sleep. But what’s best for the team and what might be the best for his future is seeing what he can do at defensive end these last four practices. We’re trying him there right now with the intention of leaving him there and we’ll make that decision ultimately after spring practice ends.”

Oliphant, a Langham Creek product, was able to record a sack during team drills on Monday.

Fine tuning the offense
With the offense mostly installed, Levine is looking for improvement and fluidity from his offensive group in the final week of spring practice. The Cougars added a few new wrinkles that they haven’t worked on during the spring and Levine was happy with what he saw.

“Offensively, I just want to see everything come together and see guys play fast and show us that they know their assignments and that they know their technique that we’ve been teaching them while they’re playing at a high level, full speed,” Levine said. “I think I saw that today. I mentioned to a couple of coaches when our ones were out there today, our execution was as good as it’s been in team all spring. That was pleasing to see.”

Odds and ends
Despite having a few players leave with injuries on Saturday after the Cougars’ scrimmage, it appears that they escaped that day without any major ailments. Zeke Riser and Mark Roberts, both of whom were carted off on Saturday, were seen on Monday in jerseys and pads working with strength and conditioning coach Brian Odom (which is what players who aren’t practicing because of injuries but can work out normally do). Riser seemed to be walking around without a noticeable limp (he had a knee injury but tweeted on Monday that he hopes to be able to participate in the spring game Friday) and Roberts had a walking boot on his left foot, the same type of boot that tackle Jacolby Ashworth has for a sprained ankle….A special Cougar attended practice on Monday: Major Ryon Adams. Adams returned to town recently after spending a year in Afghanistan. He was kind enough to come offer some kind words of support to me for UH coverage, but I felt more compelled to do so to him. Russell Sollock and I got to stand with and chat with Adams, mostly about Cougar football, for the majority of practice as we watched the workout. Levine came to shake Adams’ hand and talk to him for a bit after practice. But let me say thanks to Adams for what he does for this country. I certainly appreciate it.

Countdown to the Red-White game: 3 DAYS until the spring game
The Red-White game will be on a Friday night this year, at 7 p.m. on Friday April 13 at Robertson Stadium.

Side note: The “H” Association and coach Tony Levine will host a tailgate for current “H” Association members and former UH football players prior to the Red and White spring football game on April 13. The tailgate begins at 5 p.m. at the “H” Pavilion adjacent to Robertson Stadium. Former players are encouraged to bring their families. For more information and registration, contact Ken Baxter at kenbax@sbcglobal.net or (281) 414-8586.

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The Cougars golf team is in fifth place through two rounds at The Woodlands’ All-American Intercollegiate in a deep field that includes several nationally-ranked golf programs.

No. 10 Arkansas currently leads the team standings at 20-under par. Houston is at 2-under par through 36 holes.

The 54-hole tournament concludes Tuesday. No. 32 North Texas (-16), No. 14 Texas A&M (-14) and No. 44 SMU (-5) are second, third and fourth in the team standings, respectively, heading into the final day of action at The Woodlands Country Club.

UH senior Curtis Reed tied his season-low round with a second-round 69 on Tuesday to move into a tie for seventh place in the individual standings. He’s at -4 through two rounds.

Admission to the tournament at The Woodlands C.C. is free to the public. The final 18 holes will be played on Tuesday with tee times set for 8:30 a.m. You can follow live scoring on GolfStat.com

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UH will officially unveil its new logos and marks at its 11 a.m. spring football press conference today at the Athletics/Alumni Center. I’ll have a story up with images of the new logos and marks shortly after they’re released, but feel free to follow me on Twitter and I’ll try to update during the presser.